>> in thailand, yeah. well, as you know, we've had a series of explosions in the vicinity of the sukumvit road in bangkok. we obviously condemn this attack and offer our sincerest condolences to the innocent people who were injured. the thai police are currently investigating the events surrounding the explosion. what i would say is that with regard to this bombing, the incidents in delhi, incidents in georgia, while we will await the results of the investigations, these events do come on the heels of other disrupted attacks targeted at israel and western interests including an iranian-sponsored attack and a hezbollah-linked attack in bangkok, thailand, before this. so they serve as a reminder that

a variety of states and nonstate actors continue to view international terrorism as a legitimate policy tool which we consider reprehensible. please. >> [ inaudible ]. >> we have offered our assistance. fr frankly, i don't know where we are in terms of the indian government taking advantage of that, but we have offered assistance. >> do you have the link to the delhi bomb blast? do you have any information? >> again, as i said yesterday and as i just repeated here, we are not going to prejudge this. we're going to await the investigation. however, we do note that it comes in a context of a whole series of these kind of things. >> the indian investigation i think the question was about, yeah. nicole, did you have something?

no? okay. i thought your hand was going up. i did. i heard you thinking. i heard the wheels grinding. >> does this department agree with assertions and accusations made by israeli leaders that iranian operatives are behind this attack in delhi, the attempted attack in tablisi and the attempted attack in thailand? >> again, i just answered that we are going to await the results of these investigations. we have offered to assist in these investigations. however, we do note that they come on the heels of other disrupted attacks that do have iranian finger prints on them. >> victoria nuland is the department spokesperson. hillary clinton did condemn the attacks. and iran derided any connection to the most recent round of attacks. white house press secretary jay carney saying that the u.s. also is concerned about the targeting

of israeli interests, adding that american government officials do not have any information about who had sponsored the operations. the latest incidents seem to create a pattern of violence. this is "c-span today." >> on march 20th, the u.s. supreme court hears the argument in miller v. alabama, a case about whether a life sentence for someone without parole convicted when he was 14 violates the law on cruel and unusual punishment. you'll hear it this weekend from 2005. donald roper, superintendent of the pitosi, petitioner, versus christopher simmons, respond. >> legislators can violate this series of studies and then pick an arbitrary age.

that particular day, 18, they talk about adolescents, old and young, continuing until the mid-20s. nothing justifies the age 18. that makes it the kind a legislator ought to be evaluating, not a court. >> everyone agrees there is some age below. >> the question is where are insufficient evidence to justify at 18. but since stamford has evolved, and new scientific and these developments changed the calculus for much the same reasons the court found compelling in atkins. >> roper v. simmons saturday at 6:00 eastern on c-span radio. >> wcsp-fm across the country.

we're on xm channel 119. and "washington today" continues. >> it's an honor to welcome the vice president along with the organization. i told him his visit to iowa tomorrow will ensure him more delegates i got than the last time i was there. >> the comments of vice president joe biden at the state department earlier in the day as he welcomed his counterpart from china following a series of meetings between the two here in washington and in beijing. also, the vice president of china met with the president and was hosted by the luncheon. welcome. i'm steve scully. thanks for joining us. in other news, the u.s. does despite some sharp policy

differences over. but the u.s. did reiterate its longstanding concerns like human rights. rick santorum has pulled ahead slightly over miromney. newt gingrich at 10%. terry madonna is writing about the santorum rise in the polls. he'll join us later in the program. his piece was lost by physical, a proef of public affairs at franklin and prand more detailsn the but as members. let's begin with our lead story which is the president welcoming the leader -- the man who is expected to be the next leader

of china who will take over in 2013. these are the president's comments from the oval office earlier in the day. >> throughout this process, i have always emphasized that we welcome china's peaceful rise. that we believe that a strong and prosperous china is one that can ten to bring stability and prosperity to the region and to the world. and we expect to be able to continue on the cooperative track that we've tried to establish over the last three years.

>> we have tried to emphasize that because of china's extraordinary development for the last two decades. is so we want to make sure that china is working. and that includes assuring that there is a balance, trade flow between not only the united states and china but around the world snchl it also means on critical programs like human rights, we'll sprexpect china w continue to take a growing role

in world, to bring order and security that ultimately provides a better life for both the people of the united states and the people of china. >> all right. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> so mr. vice president, i hope you have a wonderful visit while you're here. i'm sure the american people welcome you. i'm glad that you're going to get an opportunity to get out of washington. i know you'll be visiting iowa where you visited many when you were a governor. and i understand you'll also be going to las vegas, maybe taking in a lakers game. i hope you enjoyed that and look forward to a future of improved

dialogue and increased cooperation in the years to come. >> president obama made his comments earlier today in the oval office as he met with china's vice president. and joining us on the phone is kenneth lieberthal, director and senior fellow at brookings. thanks very much for being hus. >> the chemistry between our leaders and the chinese leaders. >> well, i think in recent-in

putting their own personal take on things. so i think president obama has had a difficult time relating to him as two personalities each with huge responsibilities wrestling with issues. the hope is, of course, that he'll come across someone who is warmer where you can get a better understanding of his own concerns, goals and frankly credibility. his ability to follow through on what you talk about. but it's early days, and they've just begun to develop that kind of relationship. >> and obviously, it's important with any core relationship between the u.s. and our allies. but is it more important with china? >> i think it's very important. you know, i had the privilege of serving president clinton as his top adviser. it really does make a difference when the two top leaders feel.

and they go through. you often get to the most important and significant payoffs of the meeting. because that's when leaders get a good feel for what they can really get done here. and build personal trust as well as respect as a national leader. so i think it makes a deal of difference. and obviously clearly in a country like china where you have an author taken military saying this is someone i can work with is a major plus. >> i want to frame this next one in the economic and diplomatic relationship between those two countries. in a brookings essay, you wrote the u.s. is far stronger and wealthier than china and will

remain so but the balance of resources and capabilities is historying. can you elaborate? >> sure. china's had the fastest rated growth on very dramatic, somewhere between 7 and between $500 trillion while the chinese are increasing not only the absolute level of their military expenditures. but the gda. china has a good deal of momentum, and the u.s. is trying to figure out how we prevent from slipping the kind of dynamic, can-do successful place we have been for so many years. i think the key on the u.s. side

is get iting, the productivity among our own, the wealth in our society, the military, et cetera. to be if we can get our act together, if we can do what we've done so many times in history which is confront huge domestic nimistakes, make the necessary adjustments and be stronger than we were before we ran into trouble. finally, the chinese, on their side, while they have a lot of momentum now, also face very daunting problems. frankly more daunting than we do confront and they need to make adjustments if it's going to be one that is much more sustainable.

in terms of employment, middle class and so forth. >> we're talking to ken lieberthal here in washington, d.c. let's take a long-term perspective. richard nixon's anniversary of his historic visit to china. when we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the visit to china, what will our relationship look like? >> i think it is arkabguably i would argue maturer relationship over the last 30 years, it is as 30 thoethoers.

that kind is corrosive. it leads to military expenditures and then counterexpenditures to the fulfilling prophecy of an tag nachl. it seems to me that we've got to keep this timed in. but to keep it in the direction of a major power relationship that is normal where we can cooperate, where our? and where -- when you have irreconcilable differences, we have ways to lidge the damage though do. and frnkly, looking ahead ten

years from now whether we'll be have to be basically an 'tis nick i do think forward-leaning education can make a difference. >> ken lieberthal, thanks for being with us. >> my pleasure. you're welcome. >> you're listening to "c-span today" with relations to china as the president, again, rerated a long-standing concern. at the luncheon, he also said that his comments would echo what president hu jintao stated last year. he was here for a state dinner just a year ago in washington. and so let's begin through the translator, the comments of the vice president, the vice president of china, that is, at

the state -- >> we also had a candid exchange of rues and. china has made well recognized achievements in the field of human rights over the past 30-plus years of course, always always remember, given its range and uneven development, we're still faced with ma open faced first and then take seriously people's aspirations to promote

social fairness, justice and harmony. and push toward forward. at the same time, we're with e with quality and mutual respect. achieving common progress. >> as heard through the translator the comments of the vice president of china at a state department luncheon here in washington, d.c. the issue, human rights, an issue ha has been vatgy for one virginia congressman, grank wolf. he's also the thousand, in the book he outlines not only what he has been. a career in which he has raised

the questions. the captain that's the summary of the book "prisoner of conscien conscience." here's here on human rights. >> i think this administration has been a total failure. quite frankly, i think all the groups around this country. should know this and not pretend it is not true. christians and others should know this administration has failed them. the neat calm east and of course the catholic should know that

this administration has failed them. and the dalai lama should know that this administration has failed them 11 -- 11. now, buddhist monks and nuns have set themselves aflame. but i want to bring it back to this, and i did not know that you made a request. i would like to ask both if they would say publicly -- i see the media here looking -- what would you say, because there's still an opportunity to meet after the vice president from china leaves. what would you say if you had an opportunity to meet with president obama, and shame on them both if they do not meet. shame on that boat if they do not meet. you know that president reagan would have met with you. you know president.

you know jimmy carter wouldn't have met with you, so shame on you if they do, but maybe they won't. this may be the only opportunity. what would both of the wives want to say if they were talking to president obama and vice president bush? [ speaking foreign language ] >> if i have an opportunity to meet president obama and vice president biden, i would tell him my brother. we went skiing. so why in china he has to be

persecuted. why he has to be suffering from all kinds of tortures. please help release him immediately. >> the translation through her attorney, the commons of and you heard frank wolf who spoke before the executive commission on china reiterating some of his concerns he's been talking about over the last 30-plus years about the situation not only in china, also the co-author of a book on that very topix. this month marks the 40th anniversary of the president's historic trip to beijing. meetings that are taking place around the country reflecting on the 40th some richard nixon

saending ch i spending enormous repercussions. let's go back as richard nixon reflects on his travels to china, the great all and the relationship that was just beginning. >> yesterday along with hundreds of millions of viewers on television, we saw what is truly one of the wonders of the world, the great wall. as i walked along the wall, i thought of the sacrifices that went in the building. i thought of what it showed about the determination of the chinese people to retain their independent to allow their history. i thought about the fact that the wall tells us that china has a great history and that the people who built this wonder of the world also have a great future. mr. prime minister? you have noted that the plane which brought us here was named the spirit of '76.

just this week we have celebrated in america the birth of george washington, the father of our country who led america to independence in our revolution and served as our first president. he bade farewell at the close of his term threw his words to the country. observe good faith and justice toward all nations. cultivate peace and harmony. >> the comments of president richard nixon in beijing, china, 40 years ago this month. david ignatius writing about this in "the washington post." he writes great presidential decisions are often ones that escape the boundaries of what a leader may have said in the pastor what political advisers recommend or what the conventional wisdom of the day seems to support. that was true of nixon in china, kennedy in the cuban missile crisis, lincoln in the civil

war. a look back at the 40th anniversary of u.s. relations opening up the doors to china and president richard nixon's historic visit to beijing. back to washington. back to the budget debate. we heard earlier in the hour from jeffrey zions. testifying on capitol hill, one of a number of the president's cabinet secretaries and administration officials discussing the 2013 budget plan that includes taxes on wealthy americans. mike crapo is a republican of i'd eye. he questioned the director on when the budget ultimately will be cut facing with a $16 trillion debt and growing. >> the concern i have that it's now time to prepare the 2012 budget. we still hear that it's not time yet for us to begin the austerity part of controlling spending at the federal level. but we're not there.

my question, restorically is when will we ever get to step two? and the question i want to ask you about is this budget. i've seen a lot of budgets in congress. i've analyzed a lot of congressional budgets. one of the biggest problems that i think we have, is that you have a budget, in this case, over a ten-year period of time. but it's only the first year of the budget that really counts. it's only the first year of the budget that congress will operate from this year. almost every budget i've seen congress aeb establish. theersz more justicontrol doesn happen. this is the question i want to refer to you.

two years ago they claimed billions in savings in fiscal one year ago the president in his budget proposal even addition additional for fiscal rear 2013. we should get to an even lower level of $397 billion. now we're looking at fiscal year 2013. it's arrived. and the president proposes not the 446 that he said in his budget two years ago, not the 397 that he said in his budget one year ago, but 501. if i read the numbers correctly. and to the same dynamic that i'm described has occurred again. in this circumstance.